Brent Hinds, former guitarist of Mastodon, has died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 51.
The founding member of the heavy metal band – who recently claimed he was “kicked out” of the group earlier this year – was involved in a collision in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday (21.08.25).
The musician was driving his Harley-Davidson when a BMW SUV failed to give way, according to a police report.
Mastodon have been left in a “state of unfathomable sadness and grief”.
In a statement issue on their social media channels, they said: “We are heartbroken, shocked, and still trying to process the loss of this creative force with whom we’ve shared so many triumphs, milestones, and the creation of music that has touched the hearts of so many.
“Our hearts are with Brent’s family, friends, and fans.
“At this time, we please ask that you respect everyone’s privacy during this difficult time. RIP Brent.”
Tributes have poured in for Hinds, with Queens of the Stone age writing on X: “Rest in Peace Brent Hinds. With love and respect. See you on the other side old friend.”
Alice in Chains rocker William DuVall wrote: “This has knocked the wind out of me. RIP to the great Brent Hinds.”
A co-founding member of the band, Hinds once shared guitar shredding duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor.
Despite the band’s statement alluding to an amicable split with the guitarist in March, the musician only recently claimed they got rid of him because he was “embarrassing” them.
The group statement read at the time: “We’re deeply proud of and beyond grateful for the music and history we’ve shared and we wish him nothing but success and happiness in his future endeavours.”
Kelliher said: “Like a marriage, sometimes people grow apart, and they get interested in other things. We wish nothing but the best for Brent in chasing his dreams. You know, it’s amazing that we made it 25 years with the four of us.”
In a social media post last week, Hinds branded the band members “disgusting” and “so full of themselves”, while mocking them for not being able to sing or play guitar.
Commenting on a clip of their 2012 performance of Crack The Skye, he fumed on Instagram: “My Guitar sounds great, but Troy and prawn sound absolutely horrible ..they are way out of key ..embarrassing and they kicked me out of the band for embarrassing them for being who I am ..but what about who they are ? They are two people that can’t sing..together live or anywhere else in the world ..everything they try to sing in the studio is manipulated by autotune because they’re incapable of singing in key..f*** these guys ..only I know who they really are ..they are the biggest fans of them self’s .. I’ve never seen anyone in my life look in the mirror more than Troy Sanders. He thinks he’s God’s gift to anything. I’ve never met three people that were so full of themselves. It’s disgusting. (sic)”
The latest attack on his former bandmates came after he called them out as “horrible humans”.
In June, Hinds responded to a comment on Mastodon’s post marking the 11th anniversary of their LP Once More ‘Round The Sun stating they were “gonna miss B. Hinds”.
He replied: “I [won’t] miss being in a s*** band with horrible humans.”